Bar gear gets swanky

By KIM COOK Associated Press

The Parker cart, which has a mid-century vibe, sports an acorn finish with brass rail trim. West Elm/ap

Home beer and spirit-making have become popular hobbies. Bars and beverage stores feature a growing range of artisanal spirits and craft brews. Cocktail parties are back in vogue.

And retailers are responding to all this imbibing by offering furniture, barware and accessories with cosmopolitan flair. All you need are a few invitations, snacks and some good music for the party to begin.

“Nowadays, entertaining does not have to mean having a glitzy full bar. Bar carts have become more delicate, refined, and smaller in scale, so you can tuck them into a corner of a room or blend them in with the rest of the furniture,” says Veranda magazine’s market editor Catherine Lee Davis.

West Elm’s Parker slim-profile cart in acorn-stained walnut veneer with brass rail trim has a mid-century vibe. The walnut-stained Dodson cart features a flip-down front concealing a mirror-lined interior with plenty of storage. And a cart in polished nickel with two foxed mirror shelves evokes Art Deco glamour. (www.westelm.com)

If you want the look of a built-in bar, consider Pottery Barn’s modular collection of wine grids and drawered cabinets. In black or mahogany finish, the pieces can be configured to look like a hutch or buffet. (www.potterybarn.com )

Davis says that with barware, the trend is toward shaking it up. “We see lots of different materials like hammered silver, tortoise, or shagreen,” she says. “It’s all about mixing and matching. After all, entertaining should be about having fun.”

Artist Richard E. Bishop, known for wildlife etchings in the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s, has his work on an array of bar glasses and decanters. Ducks, trout, foxes and horses set a “country house” tone. (www.richardebishop.com)

A punchbowl that rests in the clutches of an octopus, and a sculpted shell held by a delicate coral stand are part of an aluminum barware collection at Z Gallerie. There’s also a faux crocodile service tray in rich eggplant, studded with silver rivets, that makes a sophisticated statement.

Silver cocktail picks and stir sticks topped with airplanes evoke World War II. And a mirrored sign with phrases like “Stirred” and “Straight Up” printed in a gold retro font would make great wall art. (www.zgallerie.com)

JC Penney has a whimsical yet elegant wine decanter from Michael Graves Design that features his signature bird as built-in aerator. (www.jcp.com)

At Homegoods, there are hammered metal cocktail shakers with handy drink recipes printed on the side. Standing wine buckets are useful accessories, leaving more room on dining tables and buffets for nicely sized tools — small muddlers, sieves, scoops and tongs, for example — that will have amateur bartenders looking like experts. (www.homegoods.com ; www.surlatable.com )

New York artist Aymie Switzer’s laser-etched cedar coasters depict neighborhood maps of many major cities, including Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston and San Francisco. Coasters recycled from old tires are stamped by Los Angeles artists with different graphic number fonts. And Colorado designer David Rasmussen’s black walnut stemware is distinctive. All at www.uncommongoods.com.

Enlarge This pair of glasses has etchings of narwhals. GentSupplyCo.com/ap

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